Homeopathy & the homeopathic proving

the editor’s role to verify is paramount

The science of testing medicines upon healthy people, although ancient in practice, was first formulated by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann after 1790 when he ‘…made the first pure trial with cinchona bark upon myself, in reference to its power of exciting fever…’¹ and remains a cornerstone of classical homeopathy - that is where the origin, character, and modalities of each symptom are analyzed and combine to form the individual’s picture (aside from the pathology of the disease common to all) and matched to the homeopathic medicine which produces this specific peculiarity in its proving data.²

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FIRST published in Similia The Australian Journal of Homeopathic Medicine 36:2,Dec 2023.

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Medical literature has renamed the homeopathic proving the homeopathic pathogenetic trial (HPT) defined as an experiment conducted to establish the curative properties of a drug via pathogenetic effects on healthy volunteers to inform and ground the application of the therapeutic similitude principle.³

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During the 1840’s the Homeopathic School of Rio de Janeiro applied Hahnemann’s HPT guidelines and introduced thirty six new remedies into the pharmacopoeia including Myristica, Cannabis indica, Crotalus cascavella, and Bufo, published in the book Patogenesia Brasileira which the author Dr. Mure stated:

‘‘the homeopath has no need whatsoever of making imaginary suppositions on the nature of disease, but [he needs] to exactly know which the pains are, the affected parts, the time when the malady began; in one word, the facts, just the facts and only the facts that only the malady might provide him.’’⁴

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The first HPT systematic review (Dantas et al., 2007) included 147 trials of;

• Plant origin (75)

• Animal products (29)

• Minerals (18)

• Composite chemicals (14)

• Conventional drugs (11)

The researchers concluded an overall general safety and low methodological quality.

Medicinal effects were the most frequent reason for HPT selection (usually in plant origin) followed by their toxic effects on humans - 30% of studies omitted the reason for selection.

Most HPT were quasi experimental, before and after studies, fifty-six used a comparative placebo group, and fourteen were randomized, placebo-controlled experimental studies.

The average number of HPT volunteers was fifteen, 84% of whom reported one or more symptoms, with an average of seven symptoms each - the majority of which occurred within the first week.

Thirty-six studies showed some symptoms appearing several weeks after trial commencement, and most symptoms had short duration of hours to a few days.⁵

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To make homeopathy more efficacious, efficient, and rational, HPT require critical assessment as valid and reliable data is crucial to successful clinical practice and research.⁶

Existing HPT criterion have a suggested limited capacity for causal association and inclusion of the Jaccard similarity index and the Noise index have been presented as additional analytical tools.⁷

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Dr. Timothy Allen recommended citations always be included within HPT to illuminate the documented symptoms, which in conjunction with sound editing, provide verified references that remove misconceptions and render a substance a proven homeopathic medicine available for use in practice stating that, as errors always creep in, the editor’s role to verify is paramount because authors are prone to their own interpretations.⁸

A case in point is mappa mundi a mellifluous expression for a medieval cartographic work incorporated by some ‘modern’ homeopaths which accurately translates to napkin of the world – referring to the fact that mappae mundi were often painted on cloth.⁹

Allen wrote it imperative that the real character of HPT symptoms are exposed and fully investigated to be incorporated, dropped, or stigmatized as dubious¹⁰ which should call into question an online repository¹¹ that since 2014 has doubled in size.¹²

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1. Hahnemann, S. Materia Medica Pura Vol.1 Aconitum-Ipecacuanha. New Delhi: B.Jain Publishers Pvt. Ltd; 1986. (Originally published 1830).

2. Mahesh et al., Multimorbidity After Surgical Menopause Treated with Individualized Classical Homeopathy: A Case Report. Clin Med Insights Case Rep. [Internet]. 2020 Oct [cited 2023 Aug 09]. 19;13:1179547620965560. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7580138/

3. Teixeira. Scientific Evidence for Homeopathy. Clinics (Sao Paulo). [Internet]. 2023 Jul [cited 2023 Aug 09]. 25;78:100255. Available from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10413079/

4. Mure B. Patogenesia brasileira e doutrina da Escola do Rio de Janeiro. Roca, São Paulo: Roca; 1999.

5. Dantas et al., A systematic review of the quality of homeopathic pathogenetic trials published from 1945 to 1995. Homeopathy. [Internet]. 2007 Jan. [cited 2023 Aug 09]. 96(1):4-16. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17227742/)

6. Dantas, F. Do homeopathic medicines induce symptoms in apparently healthy volunteers? The Brazilian contribution to the debate on homeopathic pathogenetic trials. Revista de Homeopatia. [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2023 Aug 09]. 80(3/4): 151-171. Available from: http://revista.aph.org.br/index.php/aph/article/view/417/507

7. Poruthukaren. An Attempt to Estimate the Noises in Homeopathic Pathogenetic Trials by Employing the Jaccard Similarity Index and Noise Index. Homeopathy. [Internet]. 2022 Aug [cited 2023 Sept 09]. 111(3):176-183. Epub 2021 Dec 27. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34959246/

8. Allen, T. The Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica. A record of the positive effects of drugs upon the healthy human organism. Vol. I. pp vii-6^th Ed. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers; 2011. (Originally published in 1874)

9. Harvey, M. The Island of Lost Maps – a true story of cartographic crime. Guernsey, Channel Islands: Phoenix, Guernsey Press Co. Ltd; 2002.

10. Allen, T. The Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica. A record of the positive effects of drugs upon the healthy human organism. Vol. X. T-Z & Supplement. 6^th Ed. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers; 2011. (Originally published in 1874)

11. RadarOPUS. Provings.com. Hosted by Zeus soft. [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 Sept 16]. Available from: https://www.provings.com/php/pages/frontController.php?page=home

12. Sherr J, Quirk T, Tournier AL. Do Homeopathic Pathogenetic Trials generate recognisable and reproducible symptom pictures?: Results from a pilot pathogenetic trial of Ozone 30c. Homeopathy. [Internet]. 2014 Apr. [cited 2023 Sept 16]. 103(2):108-12. Available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24685415/